Junta ends state of emergency in election run-up

AFP :

Myanmar’s junta ended its state of emergency on Thursday, ramping up plans for a December election that opposition groups pledged to boycott and monitors said will be used to consolidate the military’s power.

The military declared a state of emergency in February 2021 as it deposed the civilian government of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a many-sided civil war which has claimed thousands of lives.

The order gave junta chief Min Aung Hlaing supreme power over the legislature, executive and judiciary — but he has recently touted elections as an off-ramp to the conflict.

Opposition groups including ex-lawmakers ousted in the coup have pledged to snub the poll, which a UN expert last month dismissed as “a fraud” designed to legitimise the military’s continuing rule.

The junta seized power making unsubstantiated claims of fraud in a 2020 election Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won in a landslide, and she remains jailed alongside their other top leaders.

“The state of emergency is abolished today in order for the country to hold elections on the path to a multi-party democracy,” junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said in a voice message shared with reporters.”Elections will be held within six months,” he added.